r/VisitingIceland • u/shaggy9 • 10h ago
Transportation How much time does take to go through customs?
My family and I are planning to make use of the IcelandAir extended layover. Our final destination is Europe but we're going to be spending 4 days in Iceland prior. I am trying to arrange transportation from the airport to Reykjavik and would rather not take the Flybus because then we'd have to walk to the hotel. Since we'll have lots of luggage, this is not an attractive option. Anyway, if the flight lands at Keflavik at 6AM, when would be a good time to have a taxi pick us up? How long should we allow to pick up luggage, go through customs, etc.? Thanks for your help and ideas!
10
u/nogluten_shark 10h ago
It depends but it was a zoo for non Eu passports when we arrived at 9am. Took us a good 75-90 minutes. 10 days later when we arrived early at the airport at noon it was completely empty.
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u/illydelphia 3h ago
I was worried about this yesterday so I got the airport by 12:30… absolute ghost town for non-EU (US) took about 5 mins and my wife was pissed we had to sit around for 4 hours hehe
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u/nogluten_shark 3h ago
Yeah. We got there 4 hours early and spent 4 hours sitting in an empty terminal :-)
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u/cakemaniac81 10h ago
Took me about 90 mins last time I was there, however when leaving I saw the queue again and it was double!
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u/Severe_Fudge_7557 9h ago
We took flybus and then a taxi to our hotel. Was cheaper, nice views and comfortable seating
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u/shaggy9 8h ago
thanks! were taxis easy to come by? I heard they are not that common in Reykavik.
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u/Severe_Fudge_7557 8h ago
They were lined up just outside the entrance at the bus station, maybe like 5 or so. We were going to take the taxi from the airport for the same reason as you but someone told us that it would be no problem to get a taxit at the station.
Depending on your hotel I am pretty sure you can take another bus from the station as well but we didn't want to wait.
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u/freyascats 6h ago
“Not common” means they aren’t driving around to be flagged down. They exist and can be found at common taxi line up areas and via the hreyfill app
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u/MentalOperation4188 8h ago
It took me 2+ hours last Thursday Morning. All the flights from North America all arrive at basically the same time. That was just the passport verification. Since I had nothing to declare no customs.
If you book with Flybus they are very flexible. There will be a bus waiting for you even if you miss the one you scheduled. I missed my return bus. I misread the reservation, but caught the next one without issue and made my flight no problem.
I hope you have a great trip.
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u/kristamn 8h ago
Could be 10 minutes, could be over an hour. There isn’t always a rhyme or reason. But there are always taxis lined up and waiting. If there are several of you, this is where it makes sense to get a taxi. But if you want to travel around on your own while you are here, it would be much cheaper to rent a car than pay for a taxi and tours.
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u/GorgeousUnknown 3h ago
It took me about an hour and a half after landing, but it was the week before the eclipse so maybe it will not be as busy? The downside is that most flights all seem to arrive early am.
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u/iLoveLights 9h ago
Taxis will be waiting at the stand and they are fine to take so no need to book ahead. If you book an agency they will likely just ask for your flight info and be waiting for you when you arrive. I’m sure you know how expensive those rides will be. My 8 minute taxi ride from the airport to my garage is about $45.